Everyone gets seemingly impossible requests from their bosses or customers, but chances are you’ve never had one like this.

“I had a business executive give me his American Express card and tell me to book him a trip by submarine to Costa Rica,” said Roc Whitesell, a concierge at The Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. “I told him subs weren’t allowed in Lake Michigan and he said ‘I didn’t say I wanted to go from here’ and walked away.”

Whitesell frantically started calling and finally found a company on the East Coast that offered trips via submarines to Costa Rica. The cost? $70,000.

“I called him to confirm because that’s a lot of money and he said ‘I didn’t tell you to call me. I told you to do it’ and he hung up. I then booked it,” Whitesell said.

The guest left the hotel the next day via a private jet — again arranged by Whitesell — to travel to the submarine’s location.

“I assume he had a good time,” he said.

Fielding requests from guests is all in a day’s work for Whitesell and other concierges at Milwaukee-area hotels.

The most common requests are for a great place to eat and suggestions on how to spend any free time they may have while staying in town.

“I usually size the person up — their age, where they’re from — and then look at the weather before offering suggestions,” said Whitesell, who’s been at the Pfister for 15 years. “They come here and think Milwaukee is all beer and brats and they quickly see it’s not.”

The guests at the Iron Horse Hotel usually arrive knowing a little bit about Milwaukee — they may be frequent business travelers to the city or couples from Chicago looking for a getaway.

“Our guests are discerning. They are looking for a particular experience,” said Mark Maurer, the hotel’s reservationist. “They want to know about some restaurants in walking distance from the hotel or have us complete some personal request on their part.”

That may involve a marriage proposal or a special dinner in the hotel or out.

“We coordinate everything. We find out if there are dietary restrictions and take it from there,” said Maurer, adding the Milwaukee hotel has several packages, but customizes as necessary. “We had a biking club here from Toronto and we gave them detailed routes through the Kettle Moraine and then set up a day for them to golf.”

Guests to the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa often are on the lookout for outdoor activities, especially when the weather’s nice, said concierge Jan Springsteen.

“Our guests love the mail boat tour as it is entertaining to watch the ‘jumpers’ hop on and off the boat, while the boat is always moving,” she said.

During winter, horse-drawn sleigh rides are popular for both couples and families at the Lake Geneva resort. She also suggests spa offerings and makes appointments.

In downtown Milwaukee, hotels frequently refer guests to the Milwaukee Art Museum, the city’s lakefront and the riverwalk.

At the InterContinental Milwaukee, concierge Catharina Matthews will show guests a downtown map and help them plan a walking route to see the local highlights.

“I have a route down the riverwalk to the 3rd Ward and, of course, the Art Museum,” she said. “I also suggest they take in Brady Street to get that local feeling.”

Making sure a room is set up right for a guest with special requests is also part of the job. Matthews recalled how a recent guest noted in his online reservation that he slept better with a framed picture of Willy Wonka next to his bed.

“I always go through the reservations and saw that. I don’t know if he was serious or not, but I found a photo and had it framed and put it next to the bed,” she said. “We also left some chocolates in the room, too.”

Being a concierge is an intriguing and fascinating job, Whitesell said.

“Sometimes when I get a particularly hard request, I go out to the alley and have a cigarette and think about how I’m going to get it done,” he said. “They don’t care how you do something, they just want it done. And that’s what we do – with a smile.”

By popular request

Hotels often play an integral role in helping grooms-to-be pop the question.

Mark Maurer of the Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee remembers coordinating a flash mob featuring Trinity Irish Dancers in the hotel lobby as a man proposed to his beloved. Beyond extravagant proposals, there are smaller touches like writing in chalk “will you marry me?” on the slate flooring just inside the room’s door, he added.

“I found a team member who could serenade them in a designated spot in the wooded clearing,” she said. “They were transported by horse and carriage to a path of rose petals leading to a heart shape of rose petals.”